A terror suspect, who was involved in a double grenade attack in Nairobi in 2011 and even confessed to have been behind the plans was this week set free raising concerns in the region.
Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, alias Mohamed Seif a Kenyan pleaded guilty to a grenade attack in October 2011 which took place in Nairobi claiming 11 lives and injuring more than 20 others.
He worked in cohorts with one Felix Nyangaga Otuko who is still in prison.
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He also bragged how he trained with Al Shabaab militants in Somalia before he came to Kenya briefly.
K24 Digital has established that Oliacha is currently a free man after he moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to revert the ruling that saw him jailed for life.
Surprisingly, the lawyer who represented him in court- Prof Hassan Nadwa went missing two days ago after unknown men who the family now claim were officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) raided his home and left with him.
In an interview with K24 Digital on Friday, October 29, the family said that the raid happened while Prof Nadwa who also works as a lecturer at Umma University- was at the house and he was picked by the security agencies.
Since his release from court a number of security organisations in the region have raised concerns over the matter, for instance, Strategic Intelligence an organisation that deals with security matters in the East African region termed the release as bizarre.
“In a remarkably unreasonable and perhaps bizarre, ruling in Kenya, a judge has released from jail, a convicted terrorist who was serving a life sentence, despite the grave risks of recidivism,” it said.
“The rationale of releasing a convict who willingly committed acts of terrorism besides murdered a dozen persons is incredible,” it added.
During his arrest moments after the attack, Oliacha took police officers to his house where they recovered weapons and ammunition.
Some of the witnesses who were picked to testify in the case include; Patrick Ndolo Kanyingi and Justus Makau Mulwa who were lined-up and named in the charge-sheet as complainants.
The investigation team agreed to charge him with 9 counts as followed; Counts 1 and 2- causing grievous harm contrary to section 234 of the Penal Code; Count 3- engaging in organised criminal activity contrary to section 3(a) as read with section 4(1) of the Prevention of Organized crimes act, counts 4,5,6 and 7- being in possession of firearm without a firearm certificate contrary to section 4(2)(a) as read with 3(a) of the Firearms act.
“Counts 8 and 9 being in possession of ammunition without a firearm certificate contrary to section 4(2)(a) as read with section 3(a) of the Firearms act. When he was produced before the Chief Magistrate on those charges, the appellant pleaded guilty to all the 9 counts,” court records read in part, the prosecution then applied that the court proceedings be moved to Nairobi Area Police Headquarters.
